IPA welcomes ICAEW’s Q4 2014 Economic Forecast

The IPA’s Finance Director Tom Lewis highlights the key findings from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales’ (ICAEW) Q4 2014 Economic Forecast, released on Friday (12 December).

16/12/2014

“The ICAEW’s latest Economic Forecast shows that 2015 is expected to be another strong year of growth and investment – the second strongest since the recession hit in 2008 and only slightly down from 2014’s peak.

Reasons for the tempering of optimism are cited as concerns about Europe, whilst the uncertainty brought about by an election year cannot be discounted.

Good real GDP growth, falling unemployment and low inflation due to falling commodity prices bode well for UK advertisers and we expect to see this flow through into our next IPA Bellwether Report (out on 15 January) for UK campaigns. The outlook for regional European campaigns, however, is less optimistic.

For agencies, falling unemployment means it will become harder to find the right talent – the latest IPA Agency Census shows that agencies are hiring with total industry numbers up by 7% - however, falling inflation will help keep staff cost ratios under control."

From January, Tom Lewis, aka the IPA’s ‘Commercial Acuman' will be on hand to answer any profit-and-loss-related questions you may have in a new monthly advice column. So, from remuneration models to payment terms, scope creep to procurement, if you have any questions about how to enhance your commercial performance, email toml@ipa.co.uk. All questions will appear anonymously and responses will feature in a monthly column in AdUpdate, the IPA’s popular industry newsletter.